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Tagged with pigmentation ornithology
3 questions
4
votes
2
answers
640
views
Why do some Brown Pelicans have orange or reddish parts on their bills?
I am doing research on Brown Pelicans and have photos/descriptions of the breeding and nonbreeding appearances of adults, esp. the California and eastern subspecies here on our southern Pacific, Gulf ...
- 41
9
votes
1
answer
18k
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Why are certain baby (water)fowl yellow?
Why are e.g. ducklings, goslings, turkey and chicken chicks (partly) yellow?
What is the chemistry background to this? What compounds from the egg cause this to happen?
What is the evolutionary ...
- 295
9
votes
1
answer
197
views
Plumage as indicator of health in birds
Anybody know which traits of bird plumage are accurate indicators of a birds health? For example feather coloration, feather brightness, amount of feather wear, number of feathers, moult timing, moult ...
- 599